The number of homeless people in the City of Santa Cruz has fallen 36% from a year ago, according to an annual census.
The Point in Time count is a snapshot of overall homelessness looking at those in emergency shelters and transitional housing, and those considered unhoused — sleeping on the streets, in cars, or abandoned properties, the city said Friday.
The biggest decline was in unsheltered people, which fell 49%, from 749 to 384, compared to the previous year, the city said.
The city attributed the drop to progress in providing emergency shelter capacity and permanent housing solutions.
The number of individuals sleeping in emergency shelters decreased by 1%, from 279 to 275, compared to the previous year.
“There is still work to be done, as the number of people who need housing and services still outpaces the current resources that are available,” the city said in a press release.
A majority of those surveyed, 86%, said they were living in Santa Cruz County when they lost their housing.
It is “a common misconception” that people travel to Santa Cruz once they become homeless, the city said.
About one-third of those surveyed, or 36%, said that losing their job was the main reason they became homeless, while 29% said eviction was the primary cause, the city said.
The City of Santa Cruz has added 165 new shelter beds in the last two years. City, non-profit, and private developers are working on over 3,500 housing units, with more than 1,100 earmarked as affordable housing units.
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